


A life that mattered

by Skalkaya



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 15:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5010583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skalkaya/pseuds/Skalkaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILER ALERT for the event at the Vault<br/>In his last moments, Haurchefant reflects on his life and the impact he had. Will anyone remember him in the end?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A life that mattered

The moment he jumped in front on the Warrior, Haurchefant had expected to die. But it didn't matter. His life didn't matter. He had been brought into this world a bastard, and as such, every single day of his life, he had to face the fact that he was meant to pay for his parents' mistake. 

Very early in life though, he had decided that he would devote himself to protect others, to become the shield that would make others safe. Not to prove that he mattered, but to make others do.   
So, on that day, so many years ago, when he had witnessed the abduction of his friend Francel, he didn't hesitate and set out to find him. He had continued searching long after their party had returned to Ishgard to ask for help from the Templars. 

He had scouted the woods for hours on end, desperate to find where they went. In the end, he had smelled a scent of fire and followed it for a while until he had found their cabin. The rest was history. And he had won his spurs.   
Since then though, Francel had considered him more like a big brother than a friend, seeking his advice and opinions on more personal matters than before. 

But being a knight had lead him to meeting new people also. Some of which hated him for his condition, others didn't care. And among those, he thrived and developed strong friendships. He had become so popular and shown such good leading skills that the Lord Commander has met with him to announce him that he was to command the biggest camp in central Coerthas: camp dragonhead.   
The honour had been received by his family with great pride, especially from his father who had decided on this occasion to give him his own personal shield from his time in the army. It had been a big moment for him because it meant he was allowed to bear the colours of his house, which had been denied to him so far.   
They were some who thought he was actually exiled from the city more than honoured but he didn't listen to those voices and had went on to his new assignment. 

Life in a camp had been harsh for him at first. People had been suspicious of him. A behaviour he was only too accustomed to. He had dealt with it the only way he knew how. By winning them over with his natural cheerfulness and skills.   
But the moment that had made his men truly his own had been the difficult circumstances of the Calamity. Because he had always welcomed adventurers in their midst, he had known about the upcoming troubles. Dalamud had been there for everyone to see all the time, but he only in Ishgard had listen to what was really going on. And so, he had prepared his camp as best he could. Stocks had been made, shelters had been prepared, and weapons had been honed. But nothing could have prepared them for what happened.   
They had witnessed Dalamud breaking into pieces. Each and every knight that day had been watching for the defence wall for he had forbidden anyone to leave. And when Bahamut had appeared, the heart of every Ishardian had sank for such a huge draconian figure was worse than any foe their people had ever faced. For a few seconds, even Haurchefant had stood there, frozen, like all life had left him along with his common sense. And he felt like dropping everything on the spot and run like mad. But as he turned around, he saw the faces of these men and women, terrified, which depended on him. How could he ever abandon them now?

And so, he had set to the task of getting everyone to safety. Every living creature in the camp had been dragged willing or not to shelters in the mountains behind the camp with enough food to last for a week or so. And then they had waited with bated breath. Soon enough, the Calamity had destroyed the Coerthas they had once known and their caves were blocked by chunks of rocks. For days, the noise outside had been terrifying. And having no clue as to what was going on, they decided to wait until all became quiet. It had been the longest days in his life and he still has no idea how long they stayed there, having no mean to tell the passing of time. 

Some of his men went mad from the isolation and they had to knock out a few of them to prevent the fear from spreading. But most of them endured. He had been so proud of them. They waited calmly, playing cards, cooking, sleeping or reading. He himself had spent his time going from one group to another, joking, talking, and making sure his people were alright. He barely slept, always fearing someone might need his help.   
So when finally no more sound could be heard from the outside, they had set to work to make their way towards the fresh air. Thankfully, they had taken tools with them which made things a bit less difficult but it still took them two more days to reach the outside. 

And the sight that awaited them had not been a good one. 

The valleys and green slopes of their dear mountains had been covered by deep snow. Some of the knights, after so many days of hardship that were endured without so much as a complaint went down to their knees and cried and shouted to Halone their despair. 

Haurchefant himself thought he would lose his mind when his entire world had crumbled down.   
But again, his duty prevailed and he organised a march back to the camp. The desolation there was daunting at first but he saw it as a way to keep their minds off other things. He had also chosen the youngest of their men and two veterans and he had sent them back to Ishgard to report on the situation there, enquire what they were to do and get news to friends and families. 

In a week time, people were getting accustomed to their new surroundings and the cooperation among his men had never been so high. They had also completely turned around in their way to treat him and now, most of them were practically worshipping him.   
He had accepted the fact and had used it as an opportunity to make them work harder than ever. And after a few weeks, camp Dragonhead was back to its full capacity. Of course, the trauma of the Calamity was never far from their mind, but at least, they all had a purpose.

Life had went on. And from there, even more adventurer had crossed path with him. It seemed to him the world was on a better path with so many people willing to take the road and accomplish all that needed to be done, even if more often than not, it was about the money and not an altruist urge. 

 

But one day, one snowy day he never forgot, another adventurer had passed the door to his office. An adventurer that didn't appear any different when he first set his eyes on the silhouette.   
A soft voice that worded few words but eyes that said more than any speech might. At first, he didn't think much of it, with Francel being accused of heresy. And his entire focus had been on saving his friend from a terrible and dishonourable death. But after the adventurer had left for the Stone Vigil, probably never to be seen again in these parts, he found himself thinking more and more about that lone figure that left in a snow storm to find an airship. 

It was only when fate had put them again on the same path that he realised the truth: His entire life had lead up to that meeting. He hadn't been born to be a reminder of his parents' mistake. He had been born to stand at the side of this adventurer. This beacon of hope. 

This Warrior of Light. 

Every fibre of his body were vibrating in its presence, aching in its absence, longing for its return. He only truly felt alive when they were meeting. He couldn't help himself but tell everyone about the miracle that was walking among them. He had also that terrible need to protect it from harm, resulting in that incident when he had learnt the Warrior had left on its own to fight Shiva. Six of his men had been the minimum to stop him in his fury. 

And he had to admit that when the Warrior had arrived with Alphinaud and Tataru from Ul'dah, accused of the murder of the Sultana, he had felt happiness at the prospect of sharing some time close to the Warrior at the camp. But he knew better than to stand in the path of one's destiny, so he had worked tirelessly to get them the papers they needed to enter Ishgard after he had convinced his father of taking them in. Of course, he had followed, like a shadow, and ended up saving his half-brother and his protector from the Vanu Vanu.   
He had spent more time in Ishgard these past few weeks than he had in years. And he was enjoying himself tremendously despite the more sombre tidings. 

Until this day. When they broke into the Vault. 

The shield was on the verge of breaking and he thought of the sadness that his death will inflict to his father. It might even make his half-brothers shed a tear or two. He also couldn't help but wonder what would happen to his men at camp Dragonhead. Who would replace him and lead them to safety each and every day? And Francel. Poor Francel. How could he ever get on with his life without his big brother to hold his hand? 

But in the end, it was too late. 

In a loud cracking sound, the metal gave way and the spear of energy went through him. He flew on a few paces before falling to the ground. For a second, he felt nothing and saw the sky had taken a deep orange red colour. It was dusk. How fitting. Then, Aymeric lifted him and he saw the Warrior of Light running towards him. 

"Ah, there goes my beacon of hope", he thought. "I can't be the reason for it to go extinct." And he had asked for one more smile. And that was when he realised he had been wrong. Dead wrong, he added with a mental chuckle. 

His life mattered. His life had mattered. Always had. To so many people. His life had been important to some people. In the end, everything was right.   
His life…had…been…


End file.
